Tim Ho Wan received its first Michelin star in 2010.
The Hong Kong dim sum restaurant was founded by chef Mak Kwai Pui and chef Leung Fai Keung. Its original Mong Kok location opened in 2009 as a compact, affordable restaurant with only about 20 seats. Within roughly a year, it earned a star in the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau.
The recognition was notable because Tim Ho Wan offered inexpensive Cantonese dim sum rather than the formal setting often associated with Michelin-starred restaurants. Michelin specifically highlighted it as the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant when it first received the award. Its signature dishes include baked barbecue-pork buns, steamed egg cake, vermicelli rolls, and siu mai.
The 2010 date refers to the restaurant’s first Michelin recognition, not the opening of a later branch. Tim Ho Wan subsequently expanded across Asia and beyond, while individual branches have had their own opening dates and guide histories. That distinction explains why 2009, the founding year, is sometimes incorrectly chosen. The restaurant’s first international branch opened in Singapore in 2013.